20 day Dog Training and behaviour course

Submitted by John Rogerson on 26th March 2017

Would you like to have a life changing experience training dogs?

John Rogerson (UK) and Miya Guo (China) will be holding their world famous 20 day International True2Life®dog training and behaviour course in Dali, China from the 3rd of November until the 22nd of November 2017

John should need no introduction to anyone currently engaged in the study of dog behaviour and training as he is in very great demand all around the world from every imaginable organisation involved in training dogs and has greatly influenced the way that dogs are trained in more than 20 different countries.

John is widely regarded as the very best dog trainer/dog behaviourist anywhere in the world and you can be one of the students who will have a life changing experience if you enrol on this course and are serious about either wanting a career as a dog trainer/behaviourist or you are already running a dog training business and want to be the best.

Miya Guo joined John in 2013 and has worked with him in more than 15 countries around the world training dogs and owners ever since. From being an assistant to now taking a leading role in the practical training sessions has become a leading dog trainer in her own right. also has the responsibility for translating all of the lectures into Chinese for many of the students who will be present on this course. is also the joint True2Life® dog training trademark owner with John making this a truly international certification

This 20-Day training camp is limited to 24 students and will be held for 20 consecutive days.

About True2Life dog training

It is becoming more and more of a trend for dog trainers to either learn their skills or teach their classes in anything other than a true to life situation. Fenced and sterile areas, closed indoor training schools, visual partitions, and hungry dogs may seem OK until dogs and owners venture out into the real world. At True2Life we train as much as possible outside in real environments without fences and with real distractions. We allow bitches in season into our training classes because that is what male dogs and their owners need to deal with in real life. Our 2016 20 day course in Dali included two females in season for the latter part of the course and we still trained all of the dogs!

In recent times we know of a number of professional trainers that have lost complete control of their dogs in public places because the dogs were not actually trained to respond to commands in real life situations. Sadly one dog was shot dead because the trainer could not control his dog and it was disrupting flights into an international airport.

So we do not train behind closed doors and we always invite the public to watch what we are doing with the dogs in our care. The owners who have kindly donated their dogs for us to use on the course also come and watch us on regular occasions during the 20 days.

So how do we train dogs? The first thing to understand is that there is no right way or wrong way to train a dog as long as we recognise internationally accepted moral standards of training, for example no choke chains, prong collars or electric shock collars. We spend lots of time building up an emotional relationship with the dogs and teaching emotional responses. This is nothing new in dog training but it is an art that is being forgotten and strangely enough it is the way that almost every owner will communicate with their dog. We teach very few commands other than the essential controlling commands and instead use lots of non verbal communication .

So on this course you will learn practical dog training skills that are very different to what is taught on many other courses. All of the students on the last 20 day True2Life course were truly amazed at the results that we were getting with a whole variety of breeds from toy poodles to Siberian Huskies.

You will get the chance to work and improve your skills on reverse chaining, shaping, guided learning, imitative learning and much more during this course. All that we ask is that you come with an open mind and do not restrict yourself to the ‘only one way is correct’ attitude to training dogs.

Dog behaviour

Dogs are very simple animals (unlike us humans) and we can describe dog behaviour problems usually as normal behaviours that cause problems for owners or the communities in which they live. There are many very complex behaviour programmes which are designed to modify behaviour using a variety of scientific concepts and which undoubtedly work if you are either an expert dog trainer or are prepared to fork out lots of money and spend a large amount of time working through some of these complex programmes. At True2Life we choose to do it differently and have some VERY simple solutions to almost every behaviour problem. Better than that we have so many variations on behaviour modification programmes that the owners get to choose the one that they find the easiest to apply. No behaviour programme can ever work unless the owner, and often other people, get involved. We do not give behaviour modification programmes to dogs, we give them to owners!

Day 1 to 6

For the first six days the emphasis will be on basic companion dog training and will focus on control and relationship building. The exercises that we teach the dogs are walking correctly on a lead, recall and stay. There will be two to three practical training sessions with the dogs each day supplemented by lectures on understanding how dogs learn and the history of dog training. These lectures will include the effects of genetics on behaviour and puppy developmental behaviour. Each day will include around one to two hours of group discussions on various dog related topics.

Day 7 is a self - study day when students will be given a project to occupy them for a short while on this self - study day. The rest of the day is free for you to enjoy.

Day 8 to 13 of the course will focus more on advancing the basic training and will include many practical training exercises plus the chance to put a dog through our international dog training test. We will also examine the world of competition training for dogs and various dog sports that will improve the standard and accuracy of trainers on the course. Behaviour lectures will include topics such as measuring behaviour, simple dog behaviour problems and solutions and moral ethical and legal implications of inappropriate dog behaviour. . Each day will include around one hour of group discussions on various dog related topics.

Day 14 is the second self - study day when students will be given a project to occupy them while on this second self - study day.

Day 15 to 20 of the course will concentrate on more specialised task training which should have the effect of further increasing the dogs response to commands and signals. Practical training will include controlling a dog at a distance away from the trainer and we also take a look at training the dogs for specific tasks such as scent detection work, tracking, search and rescue, guide dog and hearing dog tasks.

Behaviour lectures include dog to dog aggression and dog to people aggression, fears and phobia’s, separation problems and house training problems.

What we need from you.

What we are asking for are students who committed to the world of dogs with a passion not only to work with dogs, but to make a difference in their communities when returning home after graduating from the course. We also need you to have the determination to succeed and the ability to work and live with a group of like - minded students for 20 days. You will also need to be flexible and open minded in your approach to dogs and people. Remember that we can teach anyone who has a real passion to learn.

Your certificate at the course completion will be issued by two organisations, The Northern Centre for Canine Behaviour , UK and Qinglan International Canine Behaviour and Training Centre in China. This certificate will reflect what you have learned on the course and hopefully will set you in good stead for your work within the world of dogs. There will be a written (open book) examination during the last phase of the course and the students will also undergo continuous course assessment for the practical training. is no formal practical examination. Students who pass the exams will receive either a standard pass or advanced pass depending on the level that they achieve and this will be written on their dog training certificate. Guidance will also be given on how obtain the most advanced master dog trainer and behaviourist accreditation which is based on international dog training and behaviour standards. Places are very strictly limited to the first 24 students who send in their deposits. After that number has been reached we then keep a standby list in case any of the students who have booked a place have to cancel. THIS COURSE WILL FILL QUICKLY so to book your place you will need to contact the course organiser Qinglan International Canine and Feline Behaviour and training centre by e mail to: rogerson.john@gmail.com or guo.miya.ye@gmail.com cost of the course INCLUDES accommodation from the 3rd of November until the 22nd of November and all meals except for lunch and dinner on the two self study days.

Tea and coffee will be available as required, soft drinks, alcohol, snacks and sweets are not included in the cost of the course.